The video begins and we see a close-up of a little platinum tiara. It’s not that big and not that flashy but there is an elegance about it. The camera remains focused on the tiara for a long moment before we hear a voice from behind it, that of Zoe Sperling, better known throughout the wrestling world as Syren. “It’s cute, right?” she asks with a little laugh. “I wore it to a Halloween party last year along with this whole elegant dress. It was an amazing costume, totally like something you’d see on Game of Thrones. And I love all that kind of stuff, you know? I don’t think I’d have survived living in those kinds of worlds, worlds where women were supposed to obey without question, where they were married off to further family relations and where they had to obey men completely. I’ve never been very good at obeying anyone after all. But despite the fact that I don’t agree with the way they used to treat women in those kinds of situations I have always thought that the clothes that they wore back then, the amazing dresses, the incredible jewellery, was just to die for! And ever since I was a little girl I’ve read stories about princesses and princes and a little part of me has always wanted to have a real crown all of my own, as stupid as that sounds. It does sound stupid, right? It sounds stupid and immature, I mean wanting to be a real life princess is something you only genuinely think you can be when you’re five years old, but wanting to wear a crown, wanting to have that kind of attention, that kind of respect? That’s something you never grow out of. At least, it’s something I’ve never grown out of. And what you see before you is just a symbol of that, a pretty little tiara I wore on Halloween, but this week is about a symbol of a whole other kind. This week is about the Chase of the Crown. This week is about taking a step toward that attention and respect!”

She turns the camera around and away from the tiara and on to herself, which is when we finally see the rest of the room she’s in. It’s clearly a bedroom and while there are a few personal items around in the background the room itself looks like it’s unfinished, as though it hasn’t been her bedroom for very long yet and there’s still more decorating to be done. “That’s the most important thing to me at the moment,” she says happily as she walks across the room and places the camera down on a tripod before stepping back in front of it and away a few steps from it. “I mean there’s a lot going on in my life right now, a lot going on all around me, but right now my focus is set on one thing and that’s this Thursday night in Philadelphia. When the Chase for the Crown was first announced and I found myself desperately hoping to fight my way in to the match against the Boob-Goddess herself I was excited about the potential that lay ahead of me, I was excited about the possibility of competing in one of the most prestigious tournaments in women’s wrestling. But as time has gone on and this tournament for me as gone from a possibility that I may be able to fight my way in to and moved first to a reality that I faced at Relentless, even if it was still a long shot because of the structure of the teams, the possibility that either team could implode and the lack of trust that I think all the members of the teams had in their teammates, and then finally to an actuality when we won at Relentless and I realised that I was just a few short matches away from actually achieving what was at one point just the slightest of possibilities for me, I’ve gotten more and more determined to see this thing all the way through to the end. And this Thursday in Philadelphia that actuality comes to pass when Nessa Wall, Reiha Laine and me meet in the middle of that ring under triple threat rules.”

She smiles happily before the smile fades a little and a more serious look finds its way to her face. “But this isn’t quite the way I imagined it would all go down,” she says with a shake of her head. “This isn’t quite the way I imagined it would happen. At Relentless we saw controversy that I never wanted. You see it was supposed to be an opportunity for all of us, a chance for the eight of us to compete against one another, to show what we could do, to get everyone talking about us, and I said it before the pay per view and I genuinely meant it at the time, it was meant to be a chance for all of us to put our names out there, win or lose. This kind of tournament, this kind of opportunity, was always going to be harsh on a few of us. There’s only two spots in that final match and it started off with eight of us so it was always going to be that there were some of us left disappointed, but what happened at Relentless wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. We were supposed to fight. We were supposed to put on a show. We were supposed to get the world talking about us. And win or lose, both teams were supposed to get the attention of the world. It was a huge opportunity for all of us on pay per view to show what we could do, while the eyes of the world were waiting for the huge matches, for championship matches galore, the Chase for the Crown was supposed to be about ESTABLISHING us. Instead it became about controversy. Instead it became about the breakdown of communication. What could have been an incredible chance for all eight of us became a nightmare that none of us should have had to go through. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let the opportunity slip away from me because of that controversy so I did what I needed to do.”

“And I’m sorry, ok? I am. You don’t have to believe that, but it’s true. I never meant for anyone to be upset. I never meant for anyone to feel screwed over. God knows I’ve been in that position so many times where I felt like I was robbed of an opportunity so I can completely sympathise with feeling that way, and I feel genuinely sorry that it had to happen the way it did... but it did, and I can’t change that now. All I can do is look to put the controversy behind me and move on with what’s ahead of me, and after the first round match what was supposed to be ahead of me was a fatal four way to determine who survived to the triple threat, but that didn’t happen either. More controversy! More people talking about the Chase for all the wrong reasons. And now Nene Abruti has abruptly been ejected from the tournament and I don’t intend to talk a huge amount about that. She made her bed. She lost her chance. And with the controversy that’s led us to this point what matters most now is that we get people talking about the right things again this week,” she says with a determined nod. She takes a deep breath before smiling at the camera again, the nod turning to a determined look on her face and a focused look in her eyes. “This Chase is moving forward no matter what has happened in the past and this Thursday is our chance to turn it from one of controversy and doubt in to what it should be. This Thursday Nessa, Reiha and me meet in that ring and we get our chance to turn this back in to what it should be! So here’s what’s going to happen this week. No more bullshit. No more egos. No more poor decisions by different competitors in the Chase. This week is all about ACTION! This week we get back in to the ring and we show the world how much the three of us WANT this, and when Velocity is over we leave them talking about the Chase for the Crown for the RIGHT reasons!”

“Now I have no doubt that this Chase means a lot to the two of you, I have no doubt that this Chase means an opportunity ahead of the two of you, and you know what? I wish you both the best. I mean that as well. I hope you both have the match of your lives out there and I know that one of us has to go home after this week but two of us are continuing on, and as determined as I am to make sure one of those two is me I also know that one of those two is going to be one of you. That’s why I’m excited. I’ve never been part of something like this before. Most tournaments have a ‘win and survive’ thing going on. They’re single elimination. No matter if it’s one on one, triple threat, fatal four way or even something crazy like a six way dance it’s usually winner takes all, but this tournament is different. This tournament isn’t about the winner taking everything, that’s for the final. This tournament is about separating the weak from the wrong, and this week in Philly I will NOT be the weak link in this,” she says with a bold tone. “You both want the opportunity, you both want the recognition, you both want to be able to hold your head high and say you won the Chase for the Crown, but so do I! And I wanted that before. I wanted that the moment I heard about it. But when I read the latest announcement, when I read WHERE the finals would be taking place, let alone what would be on the line, I became even more determined. The Chase for the Crown has launched careers, it’s changed attitudes toward people in the locker room, it’s established previous winners as household names in the company and I want that more than I can put in to words. I want the world to know my name. I want the world to know me as SO MUCH MORE than just Maddie’s friend and Blondetourage teammate. But the idea of being Television Champion...?”

She laughs and nods her head happily. “I’m not going to lie to you guys, I want that title,” she says with a fiery look in her eyes now. “Now it’s not the limit of my ambition by any stretch of the imagination. I want to establish myself as one of the all time greats in FFW, I want to prove that I am the BEST FEMALE WRESTLER IN THE WORLD before I’m done here and to do that I know that I have to achieve success at EVERY level in this company, I have to take on the biggest names in FFW and win, and one day I dream about holding above my head the tag team titles, the No Surrender title and even the FFW title, but the moment I walked through the door I said it, I’m dying to get my shot at the Television Championship. That title represents everything that I’m about. That title is about going out there and giving the fans the best show you can on a weekly basis, it’s about being the face of the television broadcasts; it’s about fighting and defending that championship to prove you’re one of the best competitors on TV, and that’s exactly what I’m all about. For five years I’ve fought not just when the pay per views come around but EVERY WEEK! For five years I’ve taken on EVERY CHALLENGE in this business and I’ve proven myself whether it was at the start of the show, buried in the middle of the show or right at the top in one of the main events. And to be Television Champion, to hold that title above my head, to represent it with pride and commitment, is my dream come true. So I’m chasing success, I’m chasing the respect that comes from being able to hold your head high and say with pride that you’ve won the Chase for the Crown, but now I’m chasing that as well and if I wasn’t motivated before, I damn sure am now. But I know how this match works, so... what’s going to happen?”

She laughs a little and smiles confidently. “Most girls going in to this kind of situation would look at this match and say that they don’t have to win this match, right? The key to making it to the final isn’t to score the pin-fall, like I talked about already this isn’t ‘winner takes all’, this is survival of the strongest two. So most going in to this match would focus on that! They’d enter the ring and think that if they can avoid the action, if they can stay in the corners, if they can maybe even roll out of the ring given every opportunity, that they’ll advance. They’d enter this match thinking that they don’t need to win; the key is simply not to lose. And I agree, that’s a smart tactic. It’s completely within the rules. It’s exactly the point in the whole thing. But here’s the problem: I’m not like most girls. I’m not entering this match planning simply not to lose; I’m entering this match to WIN,” she says happily. “Nessa, Reiha, I don’t know what you guys are thinking about, I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know if you’re both approaching this match trying to play it smart or not, but I promise you that I’m not. If one of you wants to hide in the corner, if one of you wants to roll out of the ring, if one of you wants to play it smart and try to simply not lose this week then you’re entitled to do that, but this week I’ve got only one intention and that’s to be the one who gets her hand raised at the end of it. This week I’m not planning to prove I’m the least weak, I intend to prove that I’m the strongest! I intend to show this week that I’m the favourite to win this tournament, that I justify the faith put in me by one of the legends of this company on Twitter and justify the help given to me by Adam Grant in helping me understand the importance of this match. And this is my opportunity this week to leap in that ring and STEAL THE SHOW this week!”

“Are you girls with me? Are we going to put on a showcase? Are we going to show the world what the Chase for the Crown means to all three of us? I hope you are. I hope you’re ready and willing to compete just like I am. I hope you both want to put the controversy behind you as badly as I do. And this week I want you both to know in advance that I’m genuinely honoured to be fighting you two. You both showed at Relentless that you wanted to be here. In the build up to the match you both had a lot to say, and you both inspired me to up my game. This week, I’m inspired to up it even more because I know I’m going to need to against the two of you. I look at this match and I don’t see a weak link, and maybe that’s because you both look at this match and you see ME as the weak link, you see ME as the stupid blonde girl who you’re planning to punt out of the tournament so you two can settle it amongst yourselves. Maybe you are. Like I said, I don’t know either one of you that well. But if that’s your plan girls then you’re going to be very disappointed this week,” she says with a grin. “Now I know I’ve got a bit of a reputation in the past, but no matter what the guys may say about me I promise you I don’t go down easy! You’ve both had issues with others in the First Round match, you were both fired up to go in there and win, and Reiha especially has shown she has an incredible fire and talent in the ring but Nessa has shown that she’s a wall in more than just name, the kind of wall that many have hit and been crushed against. And I don’t know what you thought about me as a partner but I was honoured to be teaming with both of you, but I promise you that when this week is done you’ll be wishing that we were partners again by the time it’s over.”

“Reiha, you’re exceptionally talented. You said it yourself; you’re one of the most unique talents in this company. You’re gifted in the ring, you’re unpredictable, you’re a handful for anyone even the most experienced of competitors and you’ve got a fire and a will to win that I can’t help but adore about you. I see this fire in you in everything you do, every word you say, and it excites me. It excites me because you’re a challenge, and I love challenges. It excites me because you talked about being undefeated, and whenever I hear someone talking like that I don’t shy away, I don’t think that they’ve not lost so it means they’re unbeatable, instead I step up and I think that they’ve not lost yet, so I’m going to be the first one to beat them! Can I do that? I don’t know. I don’t know if I can beat you, but I know I’m damn sure going to try,” she says excitedly before smiling happily again. “And Nessa? You’re an entirely different prospect. I don’t say that to be insulting, I’m not actually thinking of it as a bad thing at all. You see you know what it’s like to lose, you’ve felt that sting, you’ve felt that pain, and that pain has fired me up in the past to make sure that I don’t ever have to experience it again. I know going in to this match you’ve been on a roll all of your own and there’s no way you’ll want to give up on that, and nor should you. You’re motivated, you’re determined, and I know it’ll only take three seconds for you to snap the roll I’ve been on as well and leave me the one eliminated and frustrated and wishing I could have done something different. Whichever one of us loses this match will be in that position. One of us has to go home this week, only two of us can move forward, but I know in my heart that I have the ability to be one of those two! I don’t know if it’ll happen, if it does I don’t know which one of you will join me, but I know that this week is all about the opportunity ahead of us, and I’m focused, are you? Two of us move on, to the one who’s left behind I can only say that I’m sorry, and if you can’t accept that then all you can do is watch on and JUST BE JEALOUS!”

She smiles again before stepping toward the camera and planting a kiss on the lens before stepping back and shrugging her shoulders. The video ends at that point and the replay button flashes up on the screen.